The campaign commitments made by Donald Trump and JD Vance have raised significant apprehension among immigrants, particularly within the Indian-American community, as these promises introduce uncertainty regarding the naturalization of their children as US citizens. A naturalized citizen is defined as an individual who acquires citizenship in a country through birth, provided they choose to pursue that option. If such individuals retain the citizenship of their country of origin, they have the opportunity to become citizens of their birth country at any point in their lives. Trump has pledged to restrict the process of naturalization, a promise that he and Vance assert will be implemented immediately upon taking office. Throughout his election campaign, Trump consistently declared at his rallies that he would initiate the most extensive deportation initiative in American history on his first day in office. His proposed immigration reforms are not solely aimed at undocumented immigrants; they also encompass significant alterations to the legal immigration framework.
According to the information outlined on Trump’s campaign website, he intends to enact an executive order on his first day as president that would mandate federal agencies to stipulate that at least one parent must be a US citizen or lawful permanent resident for their future children to automatically gain US citizenship.In the future, children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents may not automatically qualify for citizenship. The backlog for employment-based green cards from India has reportedly exceeded one million, with an average wait time of over 50 years. This means many young immigrants may die before obtaining citizenship, and nearly a quarter of a million children will turn 21 and risk becoming illegal immigrants without alternative visas. Donald Trump’s plan to limit naturalized citizenship may face legal challenges, as experts argue it could violate the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to those born in the U.S. The draft executive order claims to interpret the amendment correctly. According to Pew Research, there are about 4.8 million Indian-Americans in the U.S., with 1.6 million born in America and recognized as citizens.Should Donald Trump sign the executive order, the courts will have to decide if the move indeed would be unconstitutional.
